Speaking of garlic, how to you guys keep yours fresh without sprouting?

My apartment's at a constant 70° F, with low humidity, and if I keep it in a dish it invariably sprouts and/or goes bad before I can use a whole clove.

I'm under the impression that keeping it in a refrigerator isn't a good idea. Mine's very cold: 34° F.

How long are you keeping it before it sprouts? Mine usually last about a week or two before I use them, all good.

I keep my garlic in one of the lowest wooden kitchen drawers. I used a 1" hole saw and drilled holes about every 3 or 4 inches along the bottom, left and right side. It's the coolest location in the kitchen and keeps the air somewhat moving. I suppose it might be considered a close cousin to a root cellar. At least as close as I can get in this part of the country.

I know what you're thinking, "Oh Biggles! I rent! I can't go drilling holes in a rented apartment or home." Oh pushaw, no landlord is going to go pulling open drawers to inspect for holes.

I keep my garlic in a cheapie "bamboo steamer basket" on a low shelf (mine is an open shelf but would probably be fine in a closed cabinet too).
That keeps them cool and dark, but also reasonably aerated.

They last longer that way than any other technique I've tried, but age matters too since the older garlic is the quicker it'll sprout.

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Last edited by Diane B. on Fri Jun 22, 2012 12:05 am; edited 1 time in total

Not sure but there may be too much moisture in a frig, and refrigerators will definitely be cooler than "root cellars" (around 50 F, which I guess is optimal).

I used to keep my garlic in the frig crisper trying varying degrees of covering/aerating/etc, but got frustrated with how quickly they sprouted, at least sometimes. And I do like to keep fresh garlic and shallots around as staples to grab any time.
That's when I read about the age factor, but also discovered the dark, cool-not-cold, somewhat-aerated-but-not-too-much, techniques like the bamboo basket (on a lower shelf). Most of the time my bulbs and cloves now last at least a month and usually longer.